"I originally wanted them to go to elementary school and brick and mortar, and when they were getting ready for pre-K, I decided I would start looking for some form of part time pre-K for them. Just before they turned 4, COVID came and it wasn't going anywhere. So within the first two months or so of COVID, I decided it's still here and it's getting worse.  It seemed we were not going anywhere in a building and so I started doing pre-K on my own. It's not easy. My hat's off to all teachers and parents who do this. And of course, we saw COVID wasn't getting any better, so we were not comfortable with them going in-person. And of course, I started researching for virtual schools.  I realized I didn't have to pay for GCA, so that was a perk.  We had a few schools lined up and GCA was the first one.  There was another school we really liked, but they only did virtual during COVID and they had decided that year they were not going to do virtual anymore.  That was a 'no' for us.  So they came off the list immediately and GCA was definitely the top of the list.

I had questions, I called in, and I got the responses immediately.  People always got back to me or answered me immediately, and the process was so easy. We recommend everyone take a chance with GCA because you won't regret it."

Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"There is a plethora of hands on activities available for students. I'm actually amazed and impressed. Every month we get emails that come out with different activities. We signed up for a virtual cooking class where they were learning to bake sugar cookies and so they were able to do that. They have in-person field trips... and we've taken advantage of quite so many. We've been to Georgia Aquarium and we've actually driven up to Chattanooga, to the Tennessee Aquarium and Callaway Gardens.  There's so much available. We take full advantage of them as much as we can. They learn and have fun at the same time. They will meet the GCA students as well, and different age groups, just like in a regular school. One of the activities we did involved children from first grade all the way up to high school age, so they were able to meet quite a few students. They worked on different things together and they always have fun."

Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"Georgia Cyber Academy is a regular school at home. Typically classes start at 8 a.m., just like in most schools. So children have to be up and ready for classes... and they go through their classes throughout the day. They have homeroom session with homeroom teachers for 20 minutes. They get a five minute break and then classes start every 45 minutes and ten minute break between classes, an hour for lunch and back to class in the afternoon. They end at the end of the day. Right now, my twins' schedules end at 2:35 in the afternoon. Of course, they do get an hour for lunch and a ten minute break between each class, but they start from 8 a.m. to 2:35; a regular school day. They have classes just like they do in a building, but they're at home."

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"The wonderful thing is the children are not just sitting at their desk and listening to teachers. They get to move, they get to stand, and they have PE. It's amazing. Sometimes I join in with them to help motivate them.

It's just amazing. And the beautiful thing is my children are... still learning to read and it doesn't matter what class they're in, the teachers incorporate some form of reading to help them. So in PE class I was shocked to see he had some information and he had he was calling out to the students and to have them read or he would assist them in reading where it's too difficult. They're learning to read no matter what. So it's just beautiful. It's an amazing school. You won't regret it if you come to it."

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"GCA provides quite a bit of flexibility for my family. I have the joy of being with the twins as they grow up. I work from home running a small business, and I'm able to work; [to] be on the phone during class. When they need assistance, they do call out to me if I'm not actively busy with work at the time.

I sit with them so I can assist them. I just make sure I'm near enough that if they need further assistance that I can assist them. And if I have to leave, I just pack their laptops and we take our hotspot with us and they still log on to class while we're driving. We've actually traveled to another state where they were able to get their entire day of class while we were traveling. And when we pulled up to [our] cousin's house, they were in their last class for the day. They were still in class and they sat at her dining table to finish their classes. And she was just absolutely impressed that even our trip wasn't interfering with their school day and they were able to do what they had to do and get their information.

We've traveled by air. We were able to log on to class until they were supposed to be on the plane, and that way they did not miss their classes. If we have appointments, we take them with us and they still get to do their classes. So it's very flexible in that sense. If there's an emergency with our family in the Caribbean, we can travel and they can still do their classes and not worry about missing classes."

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"Virtual school can be the perfect environment for children where the families have someone who can be with the children. A learning culture is essential, especially at the younger ages. My twins are six, as I mentioned, so they need assistance with certain things to open certain programs. They are getting better at it, so they're a bit more independent in doing certain things now. I'm sure by the time we get to second and third grade, they'll be a lot more independent. But you still need a learning culture.

Sometimes the teachers have instruction in that the parents need to be aware of and understand so they can better assist the children in their learning. And also for virtual schools, some children learn at different paces, so [a] virtual environment might be the best for them and helping and aiding in their learning. Being in a brick and mortar may be more generic and they may not learn at their best potential in that sense, but being virtual, some of them come out of their shells better and learn better."

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"The learning coach role is vital in the child's learning and aiding with the learning. Because it's a virtual environment, the child needs someone hands on to assist them because the teachers are not right there with them. Of course, as the child gets older, that becomes a little bit less of a need.

I will ensure that the my twins are logged in to classes on time or at the time they need to be there. The teachers will have assignments and it's in different programs and platforms, so you want to make sure they know how to get there. You get there and open it up for them when it's time for testing to ensure the testing codes are put in and the right test is selected. They are still learning to read so when it involves more reading then the learning coach is vital. Certain assignments that have to be done, the learning coach needs to be there to better explain it to the child so that a child can give the answer, so to speak."

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"Yes, they see their teachers. It's actually required for their cameras to be on. So they see all their classmates and their teachers all the time. ...If the children focus enough in class and they get their lessons done and they do whatever the teacher asked them to do, if there's sufficient time at the end of the class, the teacher does allow them to have chit chat time and she will put them in different breakout rooms and they chat with each other. So my twins know their classmates, they know them. They just see their faces and they know who they are. And so if they do meet them in person, they would know them as well. And that's the wonderful thing. I get to see them interact with them all the time. They chat with them all the time and it's just a wonderful experience.

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"One of the wonderful experiences I've had with GCA thus far is that I received two boxes in the mail for one for each child and it was filled with whiteboards, manipulatives, all types of manipulatives. So they can use that during the math classes, especially. And that has system with addition and subtraction and so forth.

And they also have a lot of theme projects to do. So in science, they actually recently made musical instruments, with some things they have at home. So I had one one twin, he did the maracas using rice and beans and a water bottle and the other one used a can and some cardboard and paper and tape and made a drum. So they were able to mimic musical instruments. So they do a lot of hands on things. And according to what is needed. They had to go outside and find rocks and do certain things with rocks in the classroom."
 

-Elizabeth, Elai & Etai's Mom

"You want a good education for your child? GCA is highly rated. When they check the statistics with other schools, not just statewide but nationwide, GCA is up there. The curriculum is excellent. You want something good for your child, but also for family flexibility, more opportunities with your child. It's a regular school at home. So you're not missing out from being in a regular school. This is a regular school at home at its best.

It's challenging, [but] not in the sense that they can't understand what they're learning. It's a lot of work. Work is expected. That's what we do in the world. We do hard work. You put in the hard work, you reap the rewards. And so they have to do the same. It's just amazing to see the level of what children are learning.

-Kimberly, Gabriel's Mom